Auchroisk whisky – Speyside

Auchroisk distillery information

Founded as recently as 1974, Auchroisk (“oth-rusk”, Gaelic for “the ford of the red stream”, which it takes from a nearby farm using the same name) was built by Justerini & Brooks (owned by Independent Distillers and Vintners (IDV)), the owners of the J. & B. blends. Intended to ensure sufficient amounts of whisky would be available for their blending purposes, the site of the distillery, west of Keith, was purchased in 1970 after extensive testing revealed a local spring, “Dorie’s well” to contain high quality water, that would produce the type of whisky J&B was after; a whisky with a light style, not much unlike that produced at Glen Spey, to be used in J. & B. Rare. Water from the site was taken to Glen Spey and distilled there to ensure this was the case. Satisfied, construction of the distillery then commenced in 1972.

While the distillery was being built, IDV was taken over bfirst by Watney Mann, a brewery firm, and Watney Mann in turn was acquired by Grand Metropolitan within a year. In 1978, the first official bottling is released. From 1986 to 2001, the whisky produced would be sold under the name Singleton, though that name is now used for the whisky from other distilleries (Dufftown, Glendullan and Glen Ord). Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness to form United Distillers in 1997, eventually becoming Diageo.

The site of the distillery is huge, with a lot of space taken up by massive warehouses capable of storing up to 265,000 casks from the other Diageo distilleries. In the entrance hall, there’s an old steam engine, which was preserved from the Strathmill distillery.

Auchroisk whisky

Most whisky distilled at Auchroisk is used in blends, primarily J. & B. However, some official bottles exist:

Flora & Fauna; 10 Years Old (released around 2001)

Rare Malts; 28 Years Old (released in 2003)

Manager’s Choice; Single Cask. 9 Year Old. Limited to 642 bottles. Released in 2009